During last year’s EAA conference the Working Party (WP) Integrating the Management of Archaeological Heritage and Tourism was founded. The outcome of this Working Party would be creating European guidelines for archaeological tourism for Europe and beyond, maintaining and sustaining an information platform and professional network. Like the WP this session is aimed at creating a multidisciplinary dialogue and raise awareness of the benefits and possible conflicts of archaeologists and professionals from other relevant disciplines working together in archaeological tourism projects turning them into a meaningful experience for the general public. We welcome participation and input from all stakeholders, including archaeologists, tourism specialists, local communities and other civic partners to discuss issues on the management of these projects and to present good practice examples of such multidisciplinary projects.

The paper focuses on the present state regarding integrated destination management of heritage sites and towns in Croatia, reviewing a number of recent attempts at broad-scale participative approach integrating needs, wishes and particularities of different stakeholders. In certain cases, the general collaborative framework introduced by a few key stakeholders in the circle including archaeologists, conservators, tourism specialists, local administrative units, civic sector and local community proved an excellent guiding light toward a common goal of integrated management aimed at sustainable development of archaeological sites as dynamic factors in the tourism business at local, regional and national levels. In certain other cases, in which these different voices were not fully heeded and particular interests took precedence, archaeological tourism as a practice often left much to be desired. The authors, directors of two major Croatian archaeological museums (in Zagreb and Pula respectively) draw on their experience in the project management of heritage attractions, with a view to contributing to the discussion towards creating European guidelines for archaeological tourism, as proposed by the session organizers.

Bridging the gap: archaeology in tourism at the Archaeological park Emona (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Archaeological Park Emona (Ljubljana, Slovenia) exhibits remains and presentations of a Roman Colonia Iulia Emona. The park consists of several locations in the center of modern Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital.
The park developed gradually from 1930-ties on. As a product of specific context, tied to the idea of Antiquity and its heritage as civilizing and inherently understandable, and to Roman archaeology as elite oriented, it was less interesting for the general public, and gradually became obsolete and unknown even to the inhabitants of Ljubljana.
During the project of renovation and revitalisation of the Archaeological park Emona in 2011-2012, carried out by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana, several key changes and improvements have been made. The primary goal of the project was to include the heritage of Emona into the life of modern Ljubljana, and to enable this, the renovation of infrastructure in the park was carried out, together with interpretative aids and public programmes.
As tourists were one of the weakest groups of our visitors, we designed a marketing plan with them in mind, and started to collaborate with the local tourist board, Tourism Ljubljana, and designed a tourist programme together. We also included local entrepreneurs and artists in some other programmes and workshops. Owing to these changes and endeavours, we had a 25% growth in foreign visitors to the Park. However, we did experience tensions and misunderstanding due to differences in understanding archaeological heritage as a source, in ways of exploiting it, and the scope and size of the possibilities. We think those conflicts and solutions employed make a good starting point for a debate, and a very useful experience for planning the development of Archaeological Park Emona and similar enterprises in the future.

Crossing borders along the Dutch Limes – How the famous Roman barges of Zwammerdam support people with multiple disabilities

The Roman frontier fort of Zwammerdam is one of the sites along the Lower German limes, along the river Rhine in the west of the Netherlands. Beside the military fort six Roman shipwrecks are discovered. The ships represent the typical character of the Lower German limes as a river frontier, built in wetland, serving as a main transport route connecting the Germanic and Gallic hinterland with the North Sea basin. For this reason the ships play a principal role in the tourist-oriented development of the Lower German limes connected to the UNESCO nomination programme.
The ships were found on the estate Hooge Burch, now owned by Ipse de Bruggen, an institute for people with multiple disabilities. Due to new medical insights and growing individualism, ideas have now changed regarding the relationship between clients and the rest of society. Cuts in health care also influence local changes and the treatments available. This and other developments made Ipse de Bruggen decide to realise more interaction between clients and visitors on the Hooge Burch. The ambitions of both the limes network and Ipse de Bruggen resulted in a joint venture on the Hooge Burch, with the objective of establishing a first-class visitors’ center combining an exhibition with a Roman trail on the Roman part of the estate. After forty years, the discovery of the Roman barges has led to the realisation of a first-class limes visitor center, partly run by people with mental and physical disabilities. Limes Visitor’s Centre NIGRVM PVLLVM opened its doors at April 15th 2016.

From the ground up: Experiencing Romania through excavations at Halmyris in the Danube Delta

The concept of archaeological tourism, or tourism based on the experiencing of an ‘authentic’ past through the viewing of archaeological sites (Timothy and Boyd 2006), is a distinctly Western phenomenon derived from nationalist capitalism which encourages heritage consumption (Rowan and Baram 2004). There are obvious challenges in the display of heritage specifically for monetary profit, a practice which often silences alternative versions of the past (see e.g. Waitt 2000). This does not, however, negate the potential benefits for archaeological tourism, rather it gives us an opportunity for finding new ways of encouraging a more holistic cross-cultural interaction. This paper presents one potential good practice example— an ongoing project in Romania advocating for cultural awareness by encouraging a participatory version of archaeological tourism through field school attendance.
Since 2012 an international management team has run a not-for-profit archaeological field school at Halmyris, a Roman legionary fort in the Danube Delta. The costs for student volunteers are kept minimal and with an average of 25-30 participants each season we are able to independently finance the excavations and sustain the program. We do attract a number of undergraduates, MA students, and PhD students from archaeology and related disciplines; however, since 2014 we have had 10 volunteers who are decidedly atypical. Ranging from 54 years old to 77, and hailing from New Zealand, Australia, North America, France, and the UK we find our project decidedly enhanced by the presence of retired folk eager for new life experiences. They have chosen to help excavate a site which goes a step past comparatively passive tourism to what I term participatory archaeological tourism. By engaging directly with excavations at Halmyris this demographic is able to not only live alongside rural Danubian fishermen, but gain new skills and most importantly a newfound understanding of heritage displays and the social context of the past. I believe this is one model which may be of use for other developing projects looking to finance excavation and engage alternative audiences. In this paper I will examine both the challenges and the benefits for the project in welcoming this demographic of field volunteers, and reflect on the unique experience of Romania they are able to gain through participatory archaeological tourism.
Rowan, Y. and Baram, U. eds. 2004. Marketing Heritage: Archaeology and the Consumption of the Past. Walnut Creek:
AltaMira Press.
Timothy, D.J. and Boyd, S.W., 2006. Heritage tourism in the 21st century: Valued traditions and new perspectives. Journal of
heritage tourism, 1(1), pp.1-16.
Waitt, G., 2000. Consuming heritage: Perceived historical authenticity. Annals of tourism research, 27(4), pp.835-862.

Creating meaningful experiences for the general public should be the primary aim of cultural tourism. When securing quality in these meaningful experiences it is crucial to start cooperating with the specialists so that this side is also in cooperated in the project making.
Actually we choose to take the challenge one step further by creating a project that combines archaeology, art and tourism on equal terms.
The project is called eScape and can be seen as a concept that is all about combining art, archaeology, past and present.
Creating and communicating art on sites with strong archaeological evidence in combination with the scientific archaeological excavations.
The location and the landscape is the raison d’ tre of the project – and locals as well as tourists are given the opportunity to experience landscape storytelling combined with world history interpreted by modern art.
eScape brings out art and cultural heritage “on location”, away from the walls of the museum, creating a phenomenological space where nature, art and cultural heritage meet and communicate with one another, giving visitors unique and unexpected experiences.

A journey through time: sensory tourism in the context of archaeological museums in Poland

Whereas previous studies in tourism promoted vision, current research claims a holistic approach to sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch in order to develop effective communication with visitors and create conditions to enhance tourist experiences. Consequently, sensory aspects of tourism have recently been in focus as an important dimension in the process of facilitating positive tourist experiences. Among others, also the archaeological museums embrace resources rich in multi- sensory stimuli that are more often utilized in the planning and marketing of appealing tourist experiences.
This paper aims to present the “sensory site” of archaeological museums in Poland. The key axis of considerations is checking to which degree they respond to the sensory tourism tendencies.
The trends discussed are illustrated by selected examples. I am referring here to the long- established archaeological museums in Poland as well as newly-open exhibitions as “Following the traces of the European Identity of Cracow”, as well as innovative trends such as those as realised in the “World of the Slavs and Vikings” or “The Slav Myth”. It is not a systematic analysis, but shows certain noticeable trends in archaeology museums: in the presentation of the artefacts, in educational projects, including the introduction of reconstructions, reenactments, museum lessons, etc. It also addresses the issue of a
modern technology offering a visitor a different perspective on the confrontation with archaeology and monuments.
It also rises some crucial questions, for example, how contemporary archaeological museums support the multisensory nature of tourist experiences? If the measures undertaken are to make the exhibited artefacts more attractive, or whether they are competing with it? Are the new ways of exhibiting and presenting knowledge about the past drawing society closer, encouraging aesthetic experiences with relics of the past, the discovery of ancestors and increasing scientific knowledge? Or do they turn attention away from the items on display? Finally, what is the real purpose of the “sensory” development of contemporary museums?

Museums in Central Asia: The Role of Cultural Institutions in disseminating Information

The countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan have great tourist potential both for foreign visitors and companies who might be interested in investing in tourism. A key factor making the place so attractive for tourists is its history, starting with the Silk Road, which dates back to Roman times (Buyers, 2003), continuing with renowned scientists and scholars of the Medieval world, through the dominance of the nomads, the Russian empire, the Soviet era. If we add the beauty of nature, landscapes, cultural, archaeological and heritage unique attractions, hospitality of people, arts and crafts of the region, it is easy to understand why this region can be considered as a unique and very attractive tourist destination.However, one common denominator in all the studies is that all these countries, to a different degree, lack proper infrastructure and have not developed proper mechanisms to attract more potential visitors and tourists.One of the most often quoted sentences in the literature on the tourism industry is that information is the lifeblood of tourism.. It has been clearly demonstrated in numerous studies that museums have direct impact on a country’s economy. The aim of this paper is to analyse if, and to what extent, the countries of Central Asia are competitive in promoting their national heritage. It aims to verify, to what degree historical and archaeological museums in the countries of Central Asia are able to adopt effective strategies to facilitate access to information for potential tourists in order to attract them. The issue of competitiveness of the museums on the digital level and the issue of digital divide is the most important one. Providing digital access to the exhibitions, information on museums has been analysed. The objects of the present analysis are historical and archaeological museums in five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. For each country two museums were chosen for the analysis. The criteria of the choice were as follows:
• State museums
• Possessing archaeological, ethnographic or historical collections
• At least one of the museums in every of the country in question is situated in its capital.

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things: Touring a Heritage trail

The aim of the paper is to present our investigation of the potential role of a historical route as a language learning and culture acquisition tool. The Route of the Blown Bridges refers to Wellington’s retreat in 1812 from Burgos to Portugal after the month long siege of Burgos had proved to be too tough a target. While retreating, and to avoid being trapped by the French army, Wellington ordered that several bridges on the Carrion, Pisuerga, Duero and Tormes rivers were blown. Through “the worst scrape I was ever in”–as Wellington put it- the allied army gained a moral dominance over the French not renouncing to it ever again.
We identify, categorize and analyze the route and its highlights in order to create materials which may serve as a means to gain a deeper sense of the Spanish culture and heritage. These materials will be used to foster this touristic route which may be useful to students interested in learning Spanish L2 while experiencing the country’s historical heritage.
The analysis of the museography and other landmarks of the route will demonstrate how fascinating the itinerary is as a means to relive the historic epic of the Napoleonic Europe both for the foreign contemporary traveler, often learned and with great interest in historical events, and also for the general public, willing to know more about this period of our history, the popular festivals, the historical recreations, etc.
As part of an ongoing project devoted to the planning, design and digitalization of materials called Touring the Battlefield: The Peninsular War in Castilla y Leon, our didactic proposal covers language use, cultural knowledge and intercultural competence, while contributing to the valorization and manament of our region cultural landscapes.